I was up before the dawn's early light this morning. Eyes wide open, brain cycling over well-trod ground. There was no hope for a retreat back to the Land of the Sandman, so I decided to step outside into the damp, gray morning air to see who else was up around the farm. The answer was that I could see nothing but I could hear a lot.
Here's the rundown of what met my ears in the dark:
Hermit thrush whining and tchupping, northern cardinals chipping, American crows mobbing a raptor, white-throated sparrows pinking, eastern towhee chewinking, titmice and Carolina chickadees scolding one another, a white-breasted nuthatch ank-anking, eastern bluebirds burbling, song sparrow chimping, pileated woodpecker laughing maniacally, mourning dove wings whistling, golden-crowned kinglet see-see-seeing, redwing tchaking, downy woodpecker peeking, white-tailed deer snorting, eastern cottontail sneezing, and the sound of the last leaf from the sycamore falling softly into the dewy weeds near the orchard.
Nice way to start the day--by 'seeing' with your ears the world waking up.
3 comments:
Bill, one of the many things that makes me smile when I remember your visits to our place: practically the minute you stepped out of the car and into the driveway, you or Julie would make a remark to the other something about the various birds you heard in our back field and our woods. There might be a comment about a screech owl, or woodcocks, or bluebirds or....whatever it was we had.
It was during those visits that I came to hear the chatter of birds as a whole 'nother language, and you and Julie were the interpreters.
Your post reminded me of those fun days. Thanks.
~Anne
Hi Anne!
Good to hear from you! I remember those days fondly, too.
We'll be back in Oxford on the weekend of 2/23/07 for an owls symposium at Hueston Woods. Hope we can see you then!
BT3, put all those sounds together and it would make a great song.
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